Kitsune's Fresh Start
by Slyver Thief
Summary: Naruto died at the VOTE but that was just the beginning of a new adventure ADOPTED FORM submindy M to be safe BL MalexMale
1. Chapter 1

Kitsune's Fresh Start  
Chapter 1

Death the new Beginning

Two figures are facing off against each other on the reflection of the water's surface, one of which is dressed in a dark blue shirt, a red and white paddle on the back, indicating he belonged to one of the most elite clans in Konoha, the Uchiha clan, and white shorts. His skin was a milky white and his hair the most raven of black. His stone cold onyx eyes could put any girl in a daze while he stared them down. This was Sasuke Uchiha of the Leaf Village. The other donned a tattered orange jumpsuit. His skin was tanner than Sasuke's and he had three whiskers on each side of his face, showing he was possessed by the Kyuubi, the nine-tailed Kitsune bijuu said to possess great power. His spiky blond hair whipped around him as the breeze blew around the two brothers-in-soul faced off against each other. Naruto hadn't even turned thirteen yet, but he was given a B ranked mission with four of his friends. They were to bring the wayward Uchiha back to Konoha by any means necessary. The struggle to get to Sasuke was hard with the Sound Five in the way. Especially with the Sound Five splitting the team up, one by one but Naruto finally was able to get to the one person that he called his aniki.

The Valley of the End, an ironic place for the two to face off against each other. Madara Uchiha and the first hokage, brothers-in-soul themselves, fought in this very place that the two genin were now squaring off in. The first battle ended with the Uchiha losing, but would it happen again? Would the Uchiha fail again or would the wishful hokage-to-be, be the one to fall this time?

A loud clash sounded and a bright light flashed as the two shinobi of Konoha faced off against each other, using the strongest attacks available to them; Naruto with Rasengan and Sasuke with Chidori. The one thing that Naruto never took into account as that Sasuke was going for the kill.

The blond looked around in a daze as he woke up to Sasuke standing over him. The younger of the two looked at him with fiery blue eyes that are usually carefree and unmarred by anguish or malice, but always lit up with determination. The younger intended to continue their fight until he could take the older of the two back to Konoha. So he could take Sasuke back home.

Naruto looked around, clearly shocked as he saw himself laying on the embankment with blood surrounding him in a crimson puddle and a gaping wound in his chest. He had no idea what was going on, but decided to follow Kakashi who was cradling his bloodied, torn up, unconscious body in his arms and the knocked out Uchiha on his shoulder. Naruto didn't know that his spirit pressure was leaking out and spreading over Konoha, alerting members of Soul Society to a spirit with immense power coming from a newly deceased spirit. The kitsune watched in horror as his own funeral took place. Sighing, the blond began to speak to Kyuubi through his mind link. The blond was so involved in his attempt to speak to the demon lord that he didn't notice that he had been approached by one of the Gotei 13. As the man stayed quiet, watching the twelve year old, Kaname Tousen consoled the confused boy. He sent him to Soul Society, where he appeared in district fifty-one with nine crimson fox tails and a pair of fox ears, instead of wearing his normal orange jumpsuit or the white yukata he noticed most was wearing. Se was dressed so differently than the others in district fifty-one. He wore a black and sapphire blue kimono with the blue being sakura petals adorned the small boy's frame, showing off his effeminate features to the world.

Naruto scanned the area with confusion as his reiatsu spread out and spiked as he took off running, not sure what to do or where he was. He immediately went and hid in a high tree. He didn't know that his power alerted many in Seireitei of a new and very powerful presence appearing.

In Seireitei...

Minato trembled as he felt a surge of reiatsu spike out of nowhere. The feeling sent shivers down his spine. "Renji...did you feel that?" The red head looked at him, disorientation in his eyes. "Who the hell couldn't? I bet everyone in the Soul Society felt that. Let's go check it out!" The two men jumped into the trees, heading for Naruto's location. Minato's training came out as he had already drawn his zanpakuto at the ready in case the source of the reiatsu was hostile to them in any form.

With Naruto...

Naruto was obviously scared as he hugged his knees to his chest. Obviously the blond was freaked out due to his different way of dressing than the others and his fox features. "Mmmm, Kyuubi, what happened to me? Where are we...where's Tsunade-baa-chan...Ero-sannin?"

The blond's best friend tried to calm him as he rocked himself, easily sticking to the tree with just his reiatsu. "Kit...we're in what I believe to be the Soul Society...we're dead." Kyuubi replied solemnly, trying to explain their situation to the preteen. Naruto shook his head in denial. "No we can't be...w-we are just dreaming...Sa-Sasuke couldn't have killed us!" The blonde thrashed his tails in agitation.

"If you don't believe me...then look below you and see someone who is known to be dead." Naruto looked down slowly in confusion before tilting his head and widening his eyes in disbelief. He shook his head furiously, refusing to believe what he just saw. He moved to take off to get away from the truth that his dreams were stolen from him by his best friend, his brother. Below the preteen were Renji and Minato, who were looking at the preteen with astonishment and recognition. 'No...please don't tell me he died...no...'

"Kit they're trying to help you! They're the good guys down here. Even though you can't become hokage you can become one of the 13 captains of Soul Society. From the looks of it, the fourth is one himself! Please calm down kit, I know it hurts, but you must calm down before you hurt yourself." Naruto slowly collapsed to the ground crying loudly. He didn't even know why this happened to him. He slowly looked up as he tried to calm himself and get the power rolling off him under control. He wanted to know why he had to die, why his best friend had to kill him. The sapphire-eyed boy would never wish to hurt someone that hurt him, but he was close to wishing it this time. He had lost his life, he had lost his dreams and the one that took them away from him was the one person he trusted above all others.

"Damn...that kid has enough power to take on a captain...and he doesn't even know how to control it yet...what should we do, Blondie?" Renji asked Minato sighed, ignoring the blondie comment. "I-I knew him when he was born...I sealed a demon that was attacking the village it's how I died. And I guess someone killed him..." Renji's eyes lit up in realization. "So this is the kid you were talking about?" Minato nodded. "He's very upset, it seems like he's still coming to terms with his death... We need to approach with caution. We don't want him to get even more upset than he already is." Minato then sheathed his sword, and slowly approached the preteen.

Kitsune ears bristled as the young soul felt a presence coming close to him, thinking the new source of energy as a threat. He didn't face the approaching shinigami, as he hid his face close to the tree he was by. "Ero-sannin...Tsunade-baa-chan...I-I broke my promise to them." As he said this he was cradling his pendant, the one thing that came from the living world with him. Sighing, Minato focused his reiatsu so it was more calming, more friendly so the blond wouldn't try to attack him or take off once more. The sixth squad lieutenant stayed back, his sword at his side, ready to be wielded if the blond proved to be a threat. "Naruto?" Minato whispered, trying not to startle him anymore, but was all for naught.

The sound of the man's voice snapped the distressed boy out of his thoughts and the one thought process was fight or flight. His mind instinctively chose flight. With a rush of wind, the small preteen raced through the trees, further from Seireitei, where he could be accepted. Dumbfounded, the two shinigami gave chase to the fleeing boy, obviously worried that such a powerful being could be manipulated if the right person found him and twisted his outlooks.


	2. Chapter 2

Kitsune's Fresh Start  
Chapter 2

Flight ruined

Naruto refused to stop. He refused to listen to the two men closing in on him in his flight to escape what his mind was telling him. In his mind, if he didn't talk to the one person he knew to be dead, then he wouldn't have to admit to himself that he himself was dead. As Naruto kept his flight from the black robed men, he didn't pay attention to where he was going. After fifteen minutes, the blond stopped in a clearing surrounded by trees that had never recovered from the last winter they experienced. Quickly glancing around, the small blond flinches as he heard two thumps on the ground behind him.

Slowly turning around, he looked up to a curious blond haired captain and a furious red head. A soft "eek" escaped his throat as he tried to back away from them both. Too bad that attempt was useless. A quick shunpo from the kinder shinigami stopped the blond in his tracks. Minato smiled kindly down to the small boy before ruffling his hair slightly. Slowly, Minato stooped down so he can look Naruto in the eyes. "Hey kiddo, why'd you run? Renji and I aren't gonna hurt you."

Naruto looked up slowly at the one person he admired all his life. "Yo-Yondaime ho-hokage...I-I can't be dead...Aniki c-couldn't have killed me! An-Anyways I-I can't be in the same place as you I-I always thought that with Kyuubi...I-I'd go to hell."

"Naruto, just because you two are fused, doesn't mean you'll be dragged to hell. Usually you'd be separated and go to your designated areas; you would go to heaven and Kyuubi to hell, but for some reason that didn't happen and it just took you here to the Soul Society. Anyways, I don't know who you're calling aniki, but I do know you are here, and that someone did end your life, even if you died too soon, in my opinion."

Naruto looked at the man with confused eyes, as he nodded slowly. "What's going to happen to me now...Yo-Yondaime-sama?" The smaller blond slowly stood up fully and his kitsune features became apparent to the two full-fledged shinigami standing in front of him. Renji raised a red eyebrow at the preteen.

'What the hell is he?' Minato was now two feet away from the blond after rising to his full height before he stopped. "You'll come with us for now. I'll talk to Yamamoto-sama to see if you can stay here. And I'm no longer the hokage so you don't have to call me that, Naruto. It's Minato."

Naruto looked up and nodded slowly. He scratched his ears roughly, not used to such appendages on his skull. The blond appeared little confused before pulling out a blue rose in his tresses, tilting his head in obvious confusion. 'Kyuubi...where'd this come from?' The great beast present in the boy's own mind tilted his head in his own confusion as well. 'I have no idea...since you died you can no longer use chakra, the energy you now use is reiatsu, which was the power pouring off of you a moment ago. With new energy comes new abilities, so this rose might be significant later. Don't lose it.'

"Naruto?" Minato's voice broke through Naruto's thoughts as he looked at him, the blond man beckoning him to follow them. The smaller blond glanced around. He was quite scared of what could happen to him in this new strange place. Naruto looked up to Minato before instantly latching onto the former kage's cloak. Minato blinked in surprise as he felt the blonde cling to him, feeling the preteen shaking slightly. Obviously being put in such a predicament, the blond was scared, especially of the other people. He tucked the rose in his kitsune ears.

'He must still be afraid.' Renji, meanwhile, is trying to stifle a laugh as he saw the predicament Minato was in. "Naruto, there in nothing to be afraid of. This is a friend of mine, Renji Abarai, a lieutenant of the 13 court guards. Renji, this is Naruto Uzumaki, the kid I told you about earlier."

Naruto looked up to the red head with confusion before focusing and he makes his ears and tails disappear. "Does that make you feel better Abarai-san?" The blonde kept a death grip hold of the man's haori, obviously a little unsure of this place.

The red head shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me what ya look like kid, in Soul Society you meet plenty of weirdos around here."

Minato snorted. "Did you put yourself in that category by any chance, Renji?" Renji glared at him and turned away, obviously not really hurt by Minato's teasing. The duo did it all the time anyway. "Anyway Naruto, hang on tight." Minato and Renji jumped into the trees, landing on branches as they went. Naruto let go of the older's cloak and easily kept up even though he is wearing a kimono that limited his mobility.


	3. Chapter 3

Kitsune's Fresh Start  
Chapter 3:  
Meeting up with old and new friends

Minato, Renji, and Naruto made it to Soul Society in ten minutes flat with the former hokage leading the group. As they walked, the kitsune attracted all kinds of attention, both good and bad. Naruto looked around curiously, not too sure about the stares. He remembered how he was treated by the villagers in Konoha, and instantly reattached himself to Minato's haori. Minato peered down at the boy with a sigh. "Don't worry, Naruto, they won't hurt you. They're just curious is all." Naruto looked up to him curiously about the news. "But...why are they curious about me?"

"Because you're new. That and your reiatsu feels different from their own... It's probably because of Kyuubi that it's different," The kage responded to the obviously scared boy. At the answer, Naruto ducked his head down and blushed. "Okay...so what all is going to happen to me after you talk to this Yamamoto?"

"Well if he agrees to you staying here, you can become a soul reaper or as what they call it back home: a shinigami. Your duty will be to slay Hollows and help lost souls find peace through console. It's pretty easy. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." Naruto tilted his head curiously before nodding. and then looked around inquisitively as most new spirits were dressed in white yukata, nothing as fancy as his. "Wh-why did I appear dressed differently though...Minato-san?"

Minato tilted his head, "I'm not really sure, Naruto. You're the first person who's shown up here dressed differently." Naruto stared at him, obviously scared and confused. He blinked as they appeared before a wall and gate. The blond was obviously apprehensive about the giant guarding the gate, but Minato just smiled and yelled up to the guard. "Hey, open the gates! It's Minato." Naruto looked up in shock before hiding behind the captain as he had obviously been scared with being thrust in a new and strange world.

"You got it. Who's the blond?" The giant's voice boomed, as he moved to open the gates. "He's a possible new soul reaper...We need to talk to Yamamoto-sama about his situation." Minato explained as he and the other two ducked under the gates and stepped inside. Naruto looked around, confused at all of the white buildings that made up Seireitei. "Wow...so...is this where shinigami live, Minato-san?" The small blond stuck real close to the man. Even though he was assured countless times that he would not be harmed here, but the small kitsune still didn't trust their words.

"Hai, each squad division has their own buildings and the hospital is over there." Minato pointed over to the huge white building nearby. Renji grunted, "I'm going to report to captain Yamamoto about this. You can show him around." With that, the red head disappeared in a flash, heading to the first division to hand in the report on finding the small soul.

Sapphire eyes looked around curiously before looking to the hospital with a sad glance. He was obviously missing his Baa-chan and Ero-sannin even if he never said a word to the older blond beside him. Minato frowned, "I know you miss her...but you'll see her again Naruto. As for how I know this kind of thing, we went on patrols around the Hidden Leaf Village on the look out for lost souls and Hollows and I used to see you running around the village all the time." Naruto looked up slowly and nodded, beginning to believe the captain. "Wait...if you're here, does that mean Sarutobi-oji-san is here, too?"

"Yeah, although he isn't a soul reaper, he is an important asset to the Soul Society. He helps Yamamoto-sama take care of things around here." Naruto looked up to the blond captain. "Can I go see him before I have to meet this Yamamoto-sama?" Minato scratched his head, obviously not sure.

"Well, chances are, he's probably with Yamamoto right now. So I'm not sure." Naruto began to pout and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "B-but I-I haven't seen Jiji-san si-since thr-three we-weeks before h-h-he died..."

Minato sighed, "Okay Naruto, I'll try to help you see him before you see Yamamoto, which is a difficult task within itself. Come on." Naruto's tears disappeared and a smile appeared as he looked up to him. "Arigato, Minato-san!" Minato shook his head wistfully as he started walking, the teen following closely behind.

Naruto giggled some as he kept walking beside the former hokage. They finally made it to the main hall, after about thirty minutes of walking, where the captains usually met in times of crisis. They walked down the hall toward a closed wooden door. Minato knocked on the door before a familiar voice called a 'come in'. Naruto peaked in and spotted Sarutobi before he dashed in and hugged his grandfather figure. "Jiji-san!"

Sarutobi was knocked back by surprise, but smiled when he saw a familiar face. "Naruto, my boy, how have you been!" His face suddenly broke into a somber expression, finally realizing the teen had to have died to come here. "Oh, Naruto..." Naruto looked up to him with a sad expression before looking up to the older hokage. "I-I'm fine, Jiji-san. I-I died today...I think?"

"Hai..." Minato replied sadly. Sarutobi sighed sadly before hugging the teen, a few tears falling down his face. "What happened, Naruto? I wanted you to live so much longer than twelve years..."

Naruto looked down then. "Sa-Sasuke...h-he killed me" The blond really did break down in tears then Sarutobi held onto Naruto, trying to comfort him. Minato stood by, leaning against the wall. The blond was crying softly into the old man's robes obviously devastated. "Sa-Sasuke tried to desert Leaf Village...i-it was my mission to bring him back home."

"Naruto, it wasn't your fault he tried to leave, always remember that. And Sasuke...he'll probably end up going to hell for his actions when he dies." Naruto looked up to him astonishment as he shook his head some. "N-No, h-he didn't mean to kill me...h-he doesn't deserve to go to hell for killing me"

"It's not only that, Naruto...but his actions since his family was killed have been adding to the punishment as well. He refused help, sneering down on those who tried to help him saying he didn't need help from a weakling. He took life for granted, killed a comrade and friend and tried to abandon his home village all in the name of one of the greatest sins, revenge. If the council gets their way, he will not be punished. He'll probably be rewarded for killing you, as a matter of fact...But if Tsunade and Jiraiya have their way, you'll meet him sooner than you think," Sarutobi said somberly. Naruto nodded slowly and sighed. "Minato-san...said I needed to see Yamamoto...to figure out what to do with me...I suppose"

"Hai, you do, and it seems Renji is trying to find you since I can hear him out in the hall." Naruto looked at him in surprise and nodded as he went up to Minato, holding onto the man's cloak. "I guess we should go, Minato-san?" Minato replied, walking out the door. "Hai, you can see Sarutobi-jiji later. Now, let's go. The sooner we get this done, the better." Naruto nodded silently as he wondered what was going to happen to him now.

The twelfth division captain led Naruto down the halls to another set of doors and knocked before flashing a comforting smile to the small preteen. Minato entered a huge office, an old man with a long white beard and bald head sitting behind the oak desk in front of them. He was wearing white and black robes and had a pipe tucked in his mouth. He looked older than Sarutobi. "Hello, Yamamoto-sama, I've brought Naruto as you requested." Minato reported, bowing on one knee before the old man. Naruto went into the room and tilted his head at the spiritual pressure he felt before approaching the old man curiously. "I take it you are the Yamamoto-sama Minato-san talks about, oji-san?"

Minato nearly choked as he heard Naruto refer to Yamamoto in such a way, but before he could reprimand the blond, Yamamoto's laughter echoed in the room. "Hai, little one, I am Yamamoto, although you are the first person to call me oji-san." He chuckled a little, "Minato-kun, stand up, You know I'm not one for formalities. You've been hanging around with Captain Byakuya too much." Naruto was standing in front of the old man without a problem with the pressure. "Why wouldn't anyone call you oji-san though? You look older than Sarutobi-jiji and he has a grandson, after all." The blond tilted his head some obviously confused as his rude nicknames were terms of endearment for almost all of his friends.

"Well, Naruto, usually calling someone old is a sign of disrespect, but in your case, I can tell it's one of respect. Although the terms you use for friends are good to you, they are rude to most people. No one calls me old since I am their boss, but I can say most would agree with you that I am indeed old." Naruto began to blush and his control on hiding his tails and ears failed after his slip on the control. So the kitsune features appear for the first division captain.

Yamamoto's eyebrows quirked, "Well I can see you are more unique than I first thought, Naruto-kun." Minato nodded in agreement. Naruto was far from normal. Said preteen began to back up as he knew that unique usually wasn't good in his case. Yamamoto chuckled, "Don't worry, Naruto, no one's going to judge or hurt you here. In fact, there's a fox soul reaper captain here as well. His name is Komamura. Naruto began to relax as he regained his spot. "I see...Minato-san said you would be the one to figure out what all will happen to me?"

"Hai and he requested that you stay here and become a soul reaper. From your abilities, I can see that you would make quite the powerful ally. " Yamamoto smiled, "Minato here is the captain of the 12th squad. I'll put you under his tutoring until you can take the test to become a soul reaper. Either that, or you can go to the academy." Naruto looked at the captain obviously wondering if the man was crazy. "No offense, but why the hell would I go to an academy when I just got out of shinobi academy just eight months ago?" Yamamoto sighed as he looked to the small blond."You see, Naruto, soul reapers are trained differently than ninja are. We specialize in kenjutsu and kido, not kunai and jutsu. While jutsu use chakra, kido use reiatsu. And because you can't control your reiatsu yet, you have to have someone to teach you." Naruto sighed some and nodded then. "Okay...if it's okay with Minato-san, can he tutor me to be a shinigami then?" Obviously the blond wasn't giving up the terms he grew up with. "Hai, if he wishes. I'm afraid you'll also have to stay with him since we don't have the room as of now." Naruto looked to the older and taller blond with puppy eyes going. Minato sighed, "Naruto, you can turn off the eyes. I was going to say yes anyway."

Naruto smiled then as he hugged the older man. "Thank you, Minato-san." The blond let go quickly though. Minato chuckled, "We'll start lessons tomorrow, Naruto. By your leave, Yamamoto-sama." Minato bowed shortly, before turning to walk out the door. Naruto blinked before bowing to the captain and turned to follow his new teacher out of the room. Minato walked out into the hallway, paused to wait for Naruto. "So, Naruto, what do you want to do now? Go see Sarutobi again or allow me to introduce you to a few people here."

Naruto looked up to the man for a minute before smiling. "Um...can I meet a few new people?" Minato then led the blond toward another door before entering. "Of course, let's go to the lounge. I'm sure we'll find a few people there." Naruto nodded, but not before latching onto the older's haori once more. Minato opened the door and walked inside. Captain Soi Fong, a young woman who was captain of the 2nd seat, sat at a nearby table next to Komamura Sajin, the fox creature captain who Naruto had been told about. Nearby, standing near the wall was Kuchiki Byakuya who merely stared at the duo as they entered. Also, Captain Toushiro and vice captain Rangiku sat near a window. "Yo," Minato greeted.

Naruto twitched his ears and tails as he peaked around the older blond curiously. "H-hi..." The blond looked around curiously and showed his apprehension about being around new people, including that his reiatsu was fluctuating every few seconds. Everyone greeted Naruto in their own way, except Byakuya, who simply ignored everyone. Rangiku squealed and was at Naruto's side in an instant. "You are so cute! Are those real?" It took every ounce of her self control not to pet those ears. Minato chuckled at her reaction. Rangiku always did love cute, fluffy things.

Naruto looked up in shock and then tilted his head at being confronted about his tails and ears. He apparently looked out of his element. "H-hai...th-they appeared when I got he-here...wh-why?" Rangiku smiled at the small shinigami in training. "They are so adorable! But..."She blinked in confusion. "How is it possible to grow fox ears?" Minato shrugged in an 'I-have-no-idea' gesture. Rangiku smiled, petting them lightly before pulling away. "I'm Vice Captain Rangiku of Ssquad 10. Nice to meet you cutie!"

Naruto blinked as he scurried back some. "Uh, nice to meet you, too...I'm Naruto...Yamamoto-sama...assigned me as Minato-san's student until I pass the shinigami test." Minato chuckled at the teen's shyness. "Hai, Naruto recently died so he's been put under my tutelage until he can pass the test." Toshiro frowned, "Sorry that you died. You seem a little too young. Were you killed or what?" Minato gave his co-worker a look that said not to talk about it. Naruto looked to the wall some, "My best friend killed me, because it was my job to take him back home." The blond then sniffed the air and looked over at the giant of a captain before approaching him. "A-ano are you Komamura-san that Yamamoto-oji-san told me about?"

Komamura tilted his encased head. "Hai, I am." Naruto smiled softly then and nodded. "Do you think maybe sometime later on...we can sit and talk a little?" Naruto blinked when he heard the door open again and saw a man with silver hair, another wearing glasses, and finally a blind man, but his instincts told him to get near Minato again where it was safe. "Of course, Naruto-san." Minato looked over at the two new arrivals, Captain Gin of Squad 3, Captain Aizen of Squad 5 and finally Captain Kaname of squad 9. "Hello, gentlemen." Minato greeted emotionlessly.


	4. Chapter 4

Kitsune's Fresh Start

Chapter 4  
Meeting new enemies

Naruto was faster than the wind and was clutching to the back of Minato's haori again as he remembered the blind man. He was the one that sent him here without explaining anything. The man was the one that just thrust him into a world where he was confused and alone. Minato glared at Kaname, "What did you do?" Kaname tilted his head slightly. "All I did was consoled the child, Minato-taicho" Minato replied, ice lacing his voice. "And yet he's afraid of you? If what you say is true, then you should have explained some things to him before you pulled out your sword." Tousen blinked then. "As what I can tell he is a shy child and he was murdered as he was following his teacher back to his village. I didn't want to have to chase him down and there was always the chance of a hollow going after him."

Minato snorted but chose not to say anything, the elemental villages were swept everyday for hollows and spirits causing them to be hollow free most of the time. The possibilities of Naruto running into a hollow would've been 1 out of 50 at best. "Be that as it may, I suggest you stay away from my student and future subordinate." The blonde peeked out from his hiding spot and kept his eyes on the blond Shinigami completely unaware of Aizen peaked interest in the small Shinigami-to-be. Naruto blinked as he spoke to his human barrier, "I didn't know I was assigned to your division? I thought the divisions were specialized depending on what our zanpaukto do though?"

Minato looked over at Naruto, "That's usually the case, but when you are assigned to a squad you'll start out with mine for the first few months or so to see how you'll perform." Naruto nodded as he slowly stood beside the twelfth division captain obviously wanting to talk to the other people barring the three new arrivals. "Minato-san...I was wondering...what division is that Renji person in?" Minato looked down to the curious kitsune. "He's in the 6th squad under captain Kuchiki who's over there."

Minato pointed at the raven haired aristocrat that had been staring at them earlier. Before walking away, Minato gave Aizen a glare that said 'leave-him-the-fuck-alone.' Naruto was using Minato's haori as a safety line as he ignored the stares he received from the three weirdest captains. "What all am I going to be learning, Minato-san?"

"Basically swordsmanship, how to perform kido, defeat hollows, console souls and the like. It's a little more complicated than it sounds. You also have to learn all the rules and laws of the soul society." Minato replied, sitting by Toshiro and Rangiku. Naruto looked up to him stunned. "All of the rules? Great and I can't use my favorite cheating technique either" He sulked some and then looked to Rangiku. "Oh do me a favor Rangiku-chan...do not start a fan club or anything concerning me please?" He looked to her smiling softly and blinked some as he hears something, "Looks like we'll be meeting soon then Naru-chan...I'll be interested if you can hear my name or not." Naruto looks around obviously confused. "Wha?"

Minato looked at him, "What is it Naruto?" Naruto blinked some. "You mean you didn't hear that Minato-san?" Everyone looked at the blond confused until Minato's face broke out in idea. "What EXACTLY did you hear Naruto?" Naruto tilted his head some. "Um mm he said something bout hearing his name and I'll be meeting him soon?"

Minato smiled, "Something tells me that was your Zanpaukto making contact with you Naruto. A zanpaukto is an embodiment of your soul in a way, and the true way of gaining a partnership with it is to know it's name. The swords usually tell you their name but it's up to the soul reaper to be able to hear it." Naruto nodded slowly and then looked up to him then. "Is it normal for Shinigami to be able to hear their zanpaukto so soon after dying though?"

"No, that's unusual. Usually it takes awhile before one can hear their zanpaukto, heck there are a few captains that can't hear their's." Naruto tilted his head some. "Could it have something to do with me talking to Kyuu-kun all the time?" The other people in the room perked up at that, "Who's Kyuu-kun?" Gin asked, his creepy smile never leaving his face. Minato glowered at him, honestly did the man ever change expressions?

Naruto blinked some then. "Kyuu's been with me since I was born...when I died, he died too" Minato sighed, he was going to have to tell the story again. "Naruto and I are from the same ninja village, the village hidden in the leaves. Twelve years ago, a nine-tailed fox demon called Kyuubi attacked the village and nearly destroyed everything. I was the leader of the village at the time so I performed a sealing ritual that would call a shinigami to our location and seal Kyuubi's soul into an infant body or in other words Naruto. In exchange I would die. Before dying I asked that Naruto would be recognized as a hero but the people didn't listen to my last request and treated him horribly." Minato sighed, "Naruto I know I should have said this earlier but...I'm sorry."

Naruto looked at him with wide eyes then. "It's not your fault and it's not Kyuu's...it's the one that killed Kyuu-kun's mate and kits...Kyuu adopted me as his kit though, he promised to protect me no matter what. Anyways it was understandable that the villagers would hate me. I was a constant reminder to them of everything they had lost." Minato tilted his head, "Did Kyuubi ever find out who did it?" Naruto slowly nodded. "Yeah Kyuu told me it was Oro-teme and an Uchiha"

Toshiro glanced at the teen, "Orochimaru and Uchiha? Which Uchiha are we talking about here?" Naruto closed his eyes some. "Ma...dara?" A lot of the soul reapers scowled at the name, they had been trying for years to execute this guy. Naruto sighed and then smirked. "He's gonna be royally pissed when he finds out Sasuke killed me though. Madara wanted to take Kyuu away from me...now he can't" A few of the captains smirked, "Yes that will be hilarious when he finds out, I wish I could see his face!" Renji stated as he entered the room

Naruto looked at him as he smiled. "Minato-san...what does each of the squads do?" Minato sighed as he tilted his head to the ceiling as he spoke. "Each squad specializes in something. For example, squad 4 specializes in healing. They're the ones that work at the hospital and every soul reaper there is required to have a wide variety of medical knowledge. However they don't even have a zanpaukto. Squad 11 is for the front lines the bruisers of the guard, the first ones who usually go onto the battlefield. Those are just some examples." Naruto nodded slowly. "What does your squad do, Minato-san?"

"We mostly deal with science and creating objects that help make our jobs easier. But it's mostly science and since I was a seals master in life and they were in need of a new captain I was elected." Minato explained. By now most of the captains are leaving or have already left, with the exception of Renji, Rangiku, Toshiro and Kuchiki. Naruto looked to the two captains with honest curiousity. Toshiro caught Naruto's look, "What is it Naruto?" Naruto blinked slowly. "Nothing...just was curious a little...how did you two become captains?" The small white haired captain smirked then, "Each candidate has to take a certain test that corresponds to their squad or if their squad leader is killed than the vice captain is made captain." The twelve year old blond blinked as he nods slowly. "Ah I see." Naruto blinked slowly as he begins to yawn.

Minato glanced outside, it was getting dark. "I think it's best we get you settled in Naruto, it's getting late." The kitsune nods as he started to get up. "Mm okay Minato-san...it was nice meeting you Rangiku-chan, Renji-kun, Hitsuguya-taicho, Kuchiki-taicho" The former dobe is yawning obviously as he heads to the door and listening to Kyuu and the unknown voice inside his head. The Shinigamis bade their farewells before Minato led Naruto to his apartment. It was cozy, not to small not to big and it had two rooms, one for Naruto one for Minato. Minato led Naruto into his room. "The futon is in the closet as are the pillows and blankets. If you need anything, I'll be in the next room. I'll be up awhile longer, so I'm sorry if I accidentally disturb your sleep. Good night Naruto."

Naruto smiled softly as he yawned; he goes into the room before sitting down on the bed. Before long he began meditating and blinking as he sees a white humanoid fox his eyes a golden color with years of insight and understanding of what was going on. Yoko looked serene surrounded by a pure white Konoha. This Konoha however was covered in snow. "Hello Naruto my name is Yoko Kurama your zanpaukto. The rose you originally found is me. I am in my sealed state right now, as soon as you hold me I will morph into a thorn whip to help you fight."  
The blond blinked and nodded as he comes out of his state and going to sleep until about five when he gets up to make walked past the desk, only to find Minato asleep there. Apparently the man had been too busy doing paperwork to go to bed.

Shaking his head some before making pancakes and bananas. "Kyuu, Yoko do you think I can use my reiatsu like chakra so I can make some techniques like when I was alive?"

"Hmm...it's possible I believe. I think Minato has tried already and can create the rasengan with it and he's currently working on more. I believe that's what he was working on last night, it was supposed to be part of your training schedule." Shocked Naruto blinked. "Mm I think I'll work on trying to develop my techniques...It'd be great if I can recreate kage bunshin again I could use the extra studying power." Kyuubi silently agreed to his kit. "That's true...on another note I hope him staying up all night working isn't a normal occurrence."

Naruto sighed some as he takes the breakfast, of pancakes, to the male and puts it on the man's desk. "Minato-san breakfast" Minato mumbled incoherently for a moment, his breathing turning shallow a sign he is waking up. As he lifted his face up, there's a small ink smudge on his left cheek. He glanced at Naruto, his face the picture of sleepiness. "Hey Naruto...sorry if I woke you up last night..."he apologized quietly. Naruto blinked some and blushed. "It's okay and you have a smudge on the cheek. Now eat before that gets cold." He goes to eat in the kitchen Minato murmured a thanks before digging in, making a mental note not to stay up so late, oh and take care of that smudge too. The blonde came in after eating. "I met my zanpaukto last night...he...was very nice and he resembled Kyuu-kun when he was in humanoid form except he had silver hair."

Minato smiled, "That's good, it makes him easier to call upon when needed. If you want to take a shower there's another set of robes outside your door and the bathroom's down the hall." Naruto nodded as he heads to the bathroom and comes out wearing the normal shinigami robes the only difference being his ears, tails, and rose. Minato nodded, "You clean up nicely Naruto, I'll be out in 10 minutes. Until then, try to learn more about your zanpaukto." With that Minato went into the bathroom to shower. Naruto held the rose flicking it as it became a thorn whip.

Minato came out a few minutes later, dressed in his captain uniform. "Ready?" Naruto silently nodded as he flicked his hand again the whip went back to the rose form. "Hmmm..that kind of reminds me of Renji's zanpaukto, only his is a sword. It turns into a whip like weapon when he applies reiatsu. Anyway, let's go to one of the training grounds, I'm going to give you a rundown on everything you have to learn."

Naruto smiled as he tucks the rose in his hair as he heads to the door. "Okay Minato-sensei" Minato walked out the door, Naruto close behind. Suddenly he turned around and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. It was like blinking. One minute they were at their apartment, the next they were at a training field of some sort. "Like the Hiraishin?" Naruto blinked as he staggered slightly. "Tha-that's the hiraishin? Wow...it's a rush like Ero-sennin said." Naruto looked up a little confused as Yoko begins speaking to him once more. "Naru-chan there are some special traits to me that will help. My sealed state has two forms, the rose thorn whip and the rose sword. The thorns on me are poisonous to everyone but you little one, you however will be healed by my poison. My sealed form is on par with any Shinigamis' shikai release, my shikai is equal to their bankai, and my bankai is on its own level. I don't want you to use the shikai until you are proficient with my sealed form, Naru-chan. Also when you are sparring with Minato-san insist on having a fourth division healer present." The blonde blinked in obvious shock as he nodded slowly.

Minato tilted his head, "What is it Naruto?" Naruto closed his eyes as he blushed some. "Yoko was explaining some things about him to me." The blonde flicked the rose and it was in the thorn whip before whipping it back and the whip forms into a sword with thorns along the blade. Minato simply nodded, not taking out his sword.

Naruto then looked to the older blonde. "Yoko also said I can't spar with anyone unless we have a member from the fourth division present." Minato's smile faded, not because of what the sword said but because it didn't matter anyway. Ever since he sealed Kyuubi...Minato hadn't been the same. As in he couldn't be killed, he never aged and if he got hurt or his arms or any other article of his body was cut off it just grew back like a weed. Ever since he showed up he had been the strongest captain except for Yamamoto. The only thing that could hurt him was probably Naruto. Minato theorized that during the battle Kyuubi's chakra affected his own body and perhaps even his own soul causing him to be this way.

Innocent sapphire eyes looked up to the man. "So what's my learning schedule, Minato-sensei?" Minato mentally shook his head, placing a smile on his face. "Well Naruto we're going to spar in the morning and study in the afternoon for now and see how that goes. Now, I'm going to brief you on what hollows are, what lost souls are and the like. Basically I'm going to go into more detail of what soul reapers do." Nodding slowly as he reverted Yoko back to his compact sealed form of the blue rose.

Minato sat on the ground, clearing his throat. "Well Naruto, basically we keep peace between the world of the living and the world of the dead. It's our job to make sure spirits pass on after they die and to keep hollows away from the living. Our two main duties are to destroy hollows and console spirits. Now do you have any idea what hollows are?" Naruto tilted his head some. "Um mm basically the opposite of shinigami so they either eat souls or take souls away to where they live?" The blonde is starting to get a headache from the two voices talking to him in his head explaining things as well. Minato chuckled, "You're somewhat correct but truthfully...they used to be normal souls no different from you or me Naruto." The younger blond nodded slowly. "Yeah Kyuu said that too and that only a few hollows were born as such"

"Hai, you see Naruto when we die a chain appears at the center of our chests, this chain usually connects our spirits to our bodies while we are alive. However after death the chains are severed cutting us off of our physical bodies. There are two known ways to turn into a hollow...one is if your chain is ripped from your chest that chain is the only thing keeping you human after you die. Or the other way if for another hollow to transform you into one." Naruto tilted his head obviously confused. "But...I don't remember having a chain Minato-sensei." Minato placed his hands under his chin in thought, "Usually when a spirit is consoled they arrive here and the chain is removed since here you can't get attacked as long as you are in the soul society. I don't really know Naruto, it would've been easier to figure this out had I been the one to find you instead of Kaname."

Naruto looked up scowling then, a look not meant for his sweet face. "I don't like that man...All I remember when I died was that there was immense pain but then warmth around me...kinda like Kyuu was cocooning me to protect me I suppose." Minato nodded, "You're not the only one...he preaches about justice all the time yet what he did was not very honorable. I don't like any of the three. Naruto...please trust me when I ask this of you...stay as far away as you can from them...there's something not right about any of them since the day I met them..."

Naruto looked up then and nods. "Yeah the silver haired man and the other one made me feel like I was a piece of meat on display." Minato narrowed his eyes in suspicion..."Ignore them and don't trust them Naruto...they are Gin and Aizen, captains of squad five and three." Naruto nods as he looked up to the man then and tilted his head some. "Mm mm I think we should spar a little Minato-sensei to see what I need to work on?"

"Hai." Minato stood up and dusted off his Soul Reaper garbs before pulling out his Zanpakuto. "Come," he beckoned, holding out his finger in a 'come hither' motion, instigating the younger blond to fight him. Naruto, taking the challenge, rolled back onto his back and pushed off, leaping to his feet effortlessly. He looked down at the rose he was holding delicately in his hands with an appraising smile before smiling and applying reiatsu to his feet, rocketing forward in a mid-speed shunpo with Yoko transformed into the Zanpakuto form. Minato disappeared as the sword made contact with his clone body, but retaliated nonetheless. Before the teen knew it, he had the sharpened edge of Minato's blade against his neck, ending the battle for the time being. The younger's blue eyes widened with disbelief. Minato had trained hard, but he had a feeling that Naruto could probably catch up to him in a year, the thought of that happening being depressing in a way, but proud in another. Naruto smirked once he regained himself and flicked his sword into a whip form, trying to make the weapon graze the other's skin.

Minato caught the flick of the younger's wrist before he used the sword to force back the whip-like weapon. He flipped backward, landing on his feet with an elegant display. Naruto flipped over to the other side and gasped softly at such elegance before concentrating his reiatsu to form Shadow Clones. Before Minato knew it, there were countless Naruto's, over one hundred to be exact. Staring in awe, the older blond was baffled. 'But then again, he always was good, from what I observed, with Shadow Clones…' he reminded himself. Shaking off his disbelief, Minato performed hand signs and summoned a spire of earth, jutting out at a few of the clones. They disappeared with a slight pop noise and Minato looked around. He was completely surrounded.

The Naruto's laughed arrogantly and three launched themselves at Minato. Minato gave up on jutsu for the time being, resorting back to his Zanpakuto. With an elegant swing and a flick of his right wrist, Minato disposed of the three, looking as if he never moved from the sword drawn position. Seeing this, the real Naruto, and his clones, made a face resembling a scowl. Six more launched themselves at Minato and they too were disposed off, again with Minato looking as if he never even moved. Even so, if Naruto looked down a the dirt at his feet, he would see multiple footsteps piled on top of each other, showing that Minato had in fact moved.  
Growing frustrated with the turn of events, Naruto sent twenty of his clones hurling toward Minato. Minato, giving up on the swiftness of his movements, knowing Naruto had put two and two together now, sheathed his sword before a clone made contact. Once they did, Minato disappeared in a pile of Naruto clones. Naruto, thinking himself to be triumphant, smiled and wiped his nose as if to say it was easy. Just as he was about to turn away and call off his clones, the clones looked down in concen. In a short second, all twenty were flung into the air with all the rest and Minato was proven to be conscious still.

Naruto watched as Minato engaged in a hand to hand combat with the remaining fifty something clones. He took in his sensei's techniques and memorized them to a T. Minato crouched to the ground and launched himself into the air, fighting the clones that were flung off of him. He delivered a swift punch to one's stomach, another to a different clone's face, both disappearing on impact. After he was done with those two, he moved on to kicking one into two more, flipping another over his shoulder and onto the ground, where he had landed just seconds before, and elbowing another in the ribs. All of them disappeared with the blows they received.

Naruto and a few other clones hung back, waiting for an opportunity to arise. When they saw a clone land a hit to Minato's back, they seized the opportunity to launch themselves off the tree branch they claimed as sanctuary and toward Minato. Minato, sensing the real Naruto approaching, quickly disposed of the other clones by extending his spritual barrier. Once the bubble expanded from his body, and collided with the clones, they disappeared from the electricity and ferocity of such power. Minato shrank his energy again and looked directly into the eyes of Naruto before catching him and twisting his arm behind his back as he landed on the ground. Minato stuck a shuriken to the blond's neck and smirked. "Not bad…"

Naruto broke free and leaped away before gathering his energy into his palm. A blue swirling ball of energy was finished forming, showing he had made a famous Rassengan. "I'm really glad he made me do all those exercises before I died," Minato chuckled as he formed his own Rassengan. "The question is, can you control it, since it's made of different energy?" Naruto tilted his head some, obviously inviting the other to see. The small blond was a battleground genius, a hidden prodigy because of his exquisite adaptation skills. Seeing this, Minato smirked slightly, sort of proud of the younger teen. In a way, he reminded him of himself when he was younger. Both males ran forward, the Rassengan balls blazing in their palms.

The smaller blond fought with dominance as his Rassengan met the opposing Rassengan. His eyes flashed in a slight panic as it collided with his senior's energy, bringing him back to how he died. Naruto stopped, giving up his dominance, and jumped back with panicked eyes. Once he regained his sight and senses about him, he looked at Minato momentarily. "So-sorry for freaking out, Minato-sensei," Naruto said with slight embarrassment. Minato simply stared at him blankly. "No need to apologize, Naruto. You're the one who's freaking out. Are you all right?"

Naruto gulped as he let his tails wrap around him safely. "I-I died when Sasuke and I clashed with Chidori and Rassengan. He went for the kill, but I didn't." Minato sighed quietly. "Let's take a break for now. Naruto…have you fully accepted your death yet?" the former Hokage inquired. Naruto shrugged a little, not entirely caring or knowing himself. "I think so. Kyuu-kun helped keep the nightmares away last night." The older simply observed the teen before him for a moment before speaking. "Alright then.. I'll take your word for it." The younger blond sat down on a bench and smiled. "So, what do I need to work on?"

"Well you're pretty good with coming up with plans on the fly, and you are very good at adapting. However you shouldn't take such wide swings or else you'll miss your target. It'd be more beneficial if you were to have a sword style, but I'm not sure if you'd want to learn one." Naruto looked at him unsure obviously. "I've only ever used kunai so I suppose it's normal for beginners? So how is my control on my reiatsu?"

"That's true and as for your control it's very good. If you want to work on it more you can always use the chakra control techniques only with reiatsu. You did very well Naruto." The small kitsune blushed some and nodded obviously happy with his ability. Minato nodded happily before his mouth turned into a grimace. Oh joy...two of his three least favorite people was here. Naruto looked at the man confused. "What's wrong Minato-sensei?"

"Naruto I believe we have some unwanted company." Minato indicated by jerking his head over to where Gin and Kaname stood, observing them. Naruto looked up in shock before shunpoing at almost Yorichi's speed behind the taller blond and tucking his zanpaukto's rose form back in his hair as he peeked back out at the intruding captains. Minato simply stared at them, "Any thing you want gentlemen? We're kind of in the middle of training."

The twelve year old looked at the men with a frown on his face evidently upset at his lesson being interrupted. Kaname simply tilted his head, "No reason Minato-san...just seeing how your new student was coming along. From what we've seen he's quite the prodigy." Naruto looked to the man before tightening his hold on Minato's haori in shock. "Mi-Minato-sensei..." Minato forced a smile on his face, making it look slightly painful. "Thank you very much Kaname-san...he is quite talented. However he doesn't work well knowing he's under scrutiny so I believe it's best if we move to a different field." Without waiting for a reply Minato hirashined the two of them to another field far from Kaname and Gin.

Naruto gazed up to Minato as they appeared in the twelfth squad's training area. "Why are they so fascinated with me?" Minato grimaced, "Because you're not normal Naruto. You've adjusted so well and you've only been here for a couple of days. You have fox-like features and you're advanced enough that you can already communicate with your zanpaukto. That and the fact you're so young are also factors. They're going to try to manipulate you."

Naruto whimpered then. "I wish they would leave me alone I'm not that special." Minato's eyes softened, "You are more special than you think Naruto, in a few months a year or two at the most...you'll probably be able to beat me." Minato then sat down on the bench nearby, his eyes closed in thought. The idea of being obsolete scared him, a lot. However that didn't mean he wouldn't help the blonde, on the contrary he'd do anything he could to help him through the ranks. Still, the thought of not being needed was one of Minato's weaknesses. Without a purpose he'd go insane. Naruto looked at him with a funny expression. "I doubt that they would want a fourteen year old leading a squad...anyways...I'm not the type for sitting and inventing things I'd go insane."

"Naruto you'll age just like everyone else here. You might stop at a certain point because of Kyuubi but you'll still age. As for leading squads you never know you can end up leading practically any squad. It all depends on what happens when you become a full fledged soul reaper." The kitsune blond nodded as he looked down. "So those three wanna see what I'm capable of and try to get me in one of their squads then?"

Minato smirked at his student's foresight. "Probably." Naruto pouted then as he looks at the blond captain. "I don't trust them"Minato explained closing his eyes in contemplation, "Who does? Well most of the captains do except me and a few others. They just have that vibe."


	5. Chapter 5

Kitsune's Fresh Start

Chapter 5

Naruto had been in Sereitei for over nine months and had became friends with almost all of the seated officers save Tousen, Gin, and Aizen. Naruto was a burst of sunshine as he would play harmless pranks and lead the shinigami on a shunpo version of hide and seek. Naruto had been in Soul Society for less than a week before his first prank.

Flashback

Naruto was bored out of his mind

The almost fourteen year old had went to Renji to get help in learning how to wield Yoko with little to no problem in his whip form. As the months went on the small blonde's reitsu levels increased forcing him to get a suppressor so he could be around others without fear of hurting them. Naruto had developed a schoolboy crush on the taller and older blonde as the months went on. Naruto is standing before Yamamoto and the other captains, "Yamamoto-oji-san...I take it I need to take the test now?"

"Hai Naruto-kun, however we shall give you time to prepare. Come here tomorrow at dawn and we'll begin your test. Do not take it lightly, and do your very best." Yamamoto replied with a smile. It still irritated some that Naruto addressed him so informally but most got used to it. Sarutobi smiled, Naruto would make a fine shinigami.

Naruto smiles and nods before shunpoing out but as he did so there was a scream from Rukia that could be heard consisting of Naruto's name. The small blonde didn't like the cell of repentance as it gave the blonde a bad feeling so he used his reitsu to use it as a form of paint.

Minato was at the training fields sparring with Kenpachi Zaraki captain of squad 11 after the meeting, as he dodged the blade he briefly wondered where Naruto was.

Naruto was giggling as he was busy evading most of second division and eighth division on a wild goose chase before shunpoing into the training grounds of twelfth division with a foxy smirk. "Hey Minato-kun, hey Kenny-kun"

"Brat what have I told you about calling me that?" Kenpachi asked gruffly, although the blonde knew he didn't really mean it in a mean way. It was just the way Zaraki was. Minato sheathed his sword, glancing up at the sky. Even if they were in the world of the dead they still had human weather they had to deal with. "Looks like it's going to rain." Minato said absently after he greeted the blonde.

Naruto looks at the eleventh division captain before sticking out his tongue. "If you don't want me calling you that, then I can always call you Ken-chan like Yachiru." Naruto frowns as the rain begins to flatten his ears

Zaraki muttered a 'don't even think about it.' before dismissing himself to the squad 11 barracks. Minato felt the raindrops trickle down his face as the heavens opened to weep. "Naruto we better get home, or we'll get soaked."

Naruto nods as he looks at him smiling. "A shunpo race?"

"Sure." Minato then disappeared, with Naruto racing neck and neck with him. They finally made it back, only it was a tie.

Naruto is smiling even though he is sprawled on the couch.

Minato panted slightly, trying to gain his breath as he collapsed on his chair. The man' s face was red from a combination of the cold rain and racing the blonde, a few minutes later he returned to normal, his heartbeat still pounding fast from the adrenaline rush.

Naruto sighs some as he looks down a little obviously glad he never showed anyone Yoko's shikai form as he would get even more attention from it.

Minato sat up before starting to work on his paperwork...he inwardly swore to kill whomever had invented the troublesome task. He frowned as he came upon a mission that was for him. It seemed that Sasuke had been put on trial shortly after Naruto died and it just ended...with Sasuke's death. He would be executed a week from now.

Naruto looks up as he senses the elder's change in mood. "What's up Mina-kun?"  
Minato grimaced, knowing Naruto would not like this one bit. However he answered by tossing the folder at the teen, "Read it and you'll see why."

Naruto opens it and blinks as he begins to read it. "Do you think Yamamoto-oji-san will let me accompany you if I pass my test, Mina-kun?"

"I could convince him, I'm sure he'd let you go." Just then thunder blazed across the dark sky, hitting a wire or something somewhere causing the electricity to go out. Minato swore as the lights went out.

Naruto was more confident but thunderstorms were one of his weaknesses as he whines and appears in the man's lap holding onto his haori.

Minato blinked at the teen's actions as he feels him shaking in fear against his chest. He carefully stood up, placing the teen on his back as he found some candles and spread them throughout the main room. He lighted them with his reitsu after they were in their proper places. "Naruto?"

Naruto refuses to let go and tightens his hold as he hears another crash of thunder as he stills his tails and ears.

Minato smiled sadly, he had learned the teen was terrified of thunderstorms but it hadn't rained in the past few months so it was the first time he had seen Naruto in such a state. Minato gently sat down on the floor, the teen scrambling to sit in his lap. Gently he ran his hands down Naruto's back, trying to get him to calm down.

Naruto had buried his head into the man's chest into his haori. "I-I hate being so scared of things...you must think I'm a coward"  
"Everyone's afraid of something Naruto, not just you. I have my own fears so calling you a coward would make me a hypocrite. I don't think you're a coward." Minato murmured, his hands trailing Naruto's back.  
The little kitsune nods before nodding off to sleep as he grips the man's shirt for support.  
Minato gently pried the teen off of him before tucking him to bed. Afterwards, Minato went to bed himself, leaving only a few candles lit. In the middle of the night he heard Naruto's footsteps approach his door before he heard knocking.  
Naruto is clutching his blanket as he stands in the hall with twitching ears as he hears the rumble of thunder.  
Minato stumbled toward the door before opening it, only to come upon the teen holding onto a blanket. The man rubbed away the dust in his eyes before looking at the blonde, his voice still rough from sleep. "'Ruto?"  
Naruto is sniffling some. "I had a bad dream, Mina...ca-can I sleep with you tonight, an-and the thunder." The blonde jumps slightly as he hears another crash  
Minato smiled sleepily as he gestured for the teen to enter. "Of course Naruto. I don't mind." He moved slightly to allow the teen room to go inside.  
Naruto nods as he gets into the futon and looks up to the man obviously wanting to feel safe.  
Minato shut the door and got into the futon, laying on his side so he was facing Naruto.  
Naruto looked almost like an innocent angel as he snuggles close to the taller blonde and snuggles to his chest.  
The captain hesitantly laid an arm over the teen's waist, pulling him closer.  
The small teen purrs as he begins to fall asleep in the hold without a pause  
Minato smiles softly before his eyes drooped close with exhaustion, the teen's breathing like a lullaby to his ears. Soon his breathing was perfectly in sync with Naruto's the calm atmosphere lulling him to sleep.  
The smaller blonde starts to wake the next morning as the sunlight hits his face and he jumps up as he goes to the shower to get ready for the test  
Minato smiled at the teen's eagerness as he watches him rush to the bathroom. He had been up an hour already and had made breakfast for the two of them. Naruto still had 20 minutes before he had to meet Yamamoto.  
Naruto comes out dressed in his normal garb and Yoko tucked in his hair like normal as he goes into the dining room. "Mm morning Mina-kun"  
"Morning Naruto-kun. How'd you sleep?"  
A pretty pink blush decorates the kitsune's cheeks. "Re-really good Mina-kun...tha-thanks" The blonde sits down and begins to eat. "So what do you think my test will be?"  
Minato pauses a moment in thought before answering, "I'm not entirely sure. It's different for those who don't attend the academy. Knowing they know how strong you are they'll probably give you a harder test."  
Naruto groans some as he tilts his head back. "I just hope they won't make me fight one of the captains...that'll be hard for me to do since I don't wanna show Yoko's released state yet."  
Minato nodded in agreement as he took another sip of his coffee. "There's a good chance they might so don't be surprised if they do."  
Naruto nods as he finishes up and looks to the man then. "Mm mm do you wanna race there Mina-kun?"  
"Eii, you'll need all the strength you have for the test. How about I just hirashin us there?"  
Naruto shrugs some as he looks up to the man smiling softly. "Okay"  
Minato nodded before finishing off his coffee, he stood up and placed his hand on the teen's shoulder a second later they were outside Yamamoto's office.  
Naruto looks at the eldest of the Gotei 13, "Morning Yamamoto-oji-san"  
"Morning Naruto-kun, I trust you are prepared and had a good night's sleep?"  
Naruto nods slowly. "Mm mm I could have done without that storm and I'm prepared as I can be"  
"Alright then let's begin." From then on, Naruto was put through the tests, acing them with flying colors. Each was more difficult than the last, finally they came to the final test. "Naruto since you've been working all morning I'm going to give you a half hour before you take the final exam. You can use this time to replenish your reserves and rest. Come back here when time is up."  
Naruto nods as he stretches some and exits the room and looks to Minato. "Mm mm lunch sounds good what about you?"  
"Sure, and I'm proud of how well you've done so far. I guess I managed to teach you something." Minato chuckled, he often wondered about his own teaching skills, as a ninja he'd just wing it, he used the same principle here as well. "Where to?"  
Naruto smiles softly as he tilts his head. "Mm mm ramen?"  
"Sure, let's go."  
Naruto smiles as he holds onto the man's arm so they could get to the ramen bar quickly  
Minato teleported them to the ramen bar, taking a seat at the counter and helping the teen up onto the stool.  
Naruto looks at the captain blushing as he orders four bowls and eats them quickly. "What do you think my last test will be?"  
Minato grinned, "Oh I already know what your next test is but I can't tell you."  
Naruto tilts his head confused then. "What do you mean you can't

tell me Mina?"  
"Well I can't. Yamamoto told me not to, he said something about wanting to see your face when you found out." He chuckled quietly before slurping more of his ramen.  
Naruto shakes his head as he finishes his food and then relaxes in his seat  
Minato finished shortly after, hesitantly ruffling the teen's hair, his voice no higher than a whisper, "Nervous?"  
Naruto sighs some and nods slowly. "Yeah I have a feeling I'm going to have to release my suppressors for this test to come out on top."  
Minato smiled encouragingly, "I'm sure you'll do fine." He gently trailed his fingers through the teen's hair.  
The feel of the older male's finger's brushing his ears causes him to purr  
The captain glanced at the clock, they still had twenty minutes before the test so they only used up 10 minutes for eating. His calloused thumb brushed the blonde's ear again, coaxing another purr from him.  
The rubbing makes the smaller teen nuzzle into the hand and purrs in want of more touch on his ears  
Minato laughed quietly, at times Naruto reminded him of a cat. Purring when his ears or tails were touched lovingly and causing all sorts of hell if anyone yanked or stepped on his tails. He absently caressed the furry ears, giving into the teen's silent desire.  
The small teen didn't know that Rangiku had caused a fan club to be formed for the small teen. Naruto however is obviously enjoying the calming touch  
Minato's smile threatened to tear his face in half as he spotted Naruto's fan club ogling them nearby. However he paid them no heed as he continued petting Naruto's fox ears.  
Naruto is obviously comfortable and in a meditative state as the minutes passed by.  
Minato glances at the clock again, only to see Naruto has ten minutes left. Reluctantly he stopped his ministrations and gently shook the teen out of his meditative state. "Naruto I think we better head back now, you only have ten minutes." He laughed at the whine he received when he stopped petting Naruto's ears, yep he reminded Minato of a cat alright.  
Naruto sighs as he gets off the chair to stretch some in a semblance of a kitten  
Minato grinned as he stood up and paid for their meals, his smile widening as he watched the teen stretch.  
Naruto sighs some and looks to the man. "Mm do you wanna walk to the office or Hirashin there again?"  
"We have time to do either, it's up to you."  
Naruto stretches his arms then. "Mm I wanna get this over with so the fast way today"  
"Alright then." Minato grabbed the teen's shoulder as he teleported them to the office in front of Yamamoto. "I see you're early Naruto, want to get started?"  
The blonde nods as he had a feeling this is gonna have to do with sparring  
Reading his thoughts Yamamoto chuckled, "Close but not entirely Naruto. You're final test...is destroying a hollow."  
Naruto blinks and sighs. "Okay I think I can handle that more than fighting a captain."  
Yamamoto chuckled, "Afterwards...you'll be sparring against captain Aizen. So technically this is a preliminary test to the final one. Bad luck for you Naruto." The old man's grin widened as Naruto's mouth dropped in shock.  
Naruto groans some as he nods. "Where am I to go for my first part?"  
"You'll be going ...to the fire country to battle a hollow that's recently appeared and is causing trouble for the humans there."  
Naruto's eyes hardened into blue ice as he nods silently. "Is anyone going to accompany me?"  
"Yes, however we're allowing you to pick someone. Although I already have a good idea of who you'll pick."  
Naruto looks up to Minato then with soft eyes. "He's my teacher he'll know if I'll be getting in trouble and need help."  
Yamamoto nodded wordlessly, "Minato will take you there. Effective immediately." Minato nodded as he teleported Naruto and himself to the fire country.  
Naruto blinks as he looks around and concentrates before going off to the northeast at a moderate shunpo to where he felt the hollow  
Minato follows closely behind, making sure not to interfere.  
Naruto skids to a stop as he takes Yoko out and flicking him into whip form and using a white lightning kido and uses the whip aiming at the hollow's mask  
The hollow shrieks, it's form disapparating but not before his human form is revealed.  
Naruto looks at the form curiously knowing the soul was purified and going to Soul society.  
The human form turns out to be a ninja of the hidden leaf village, one that had shown Naruto kindness in the past and had been dead since before the third round of the chuunin exams, Gekko Hayate.  
Naruto looks to the sickly looking nin. The blonde approaches the man with soft steps. "I'm going to send you to a place where you'll never have to fight Gekko-san where you'll be safe." The blonde smiles some as Gekko's soul begins to disperse and heads to soul society. "That was surprisingly easy...Mina-kun...is my fight with Aizen-taicho going to be watched by any of the other captains and vice captains?"  
"Hai it is, but be careful Naruto."  
Naruto nods as he holds onto the older's sleeve. "I know...those three are dangerous"  
Minato nodded before he transported them to the arena where he would fight. Standing back, Minato ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately "Good luck Naruto, I'll be watching." He smiled before walking away.  
Naruto nods smiling before turning to the other captain. "I guess I have to take this seriously" The blonde moves a sleeve up and takes off a bracelet and waves upon waves of reitsu poured off the small teen.  
Aizen pulls out his zanpakto, a friendly smile adorning his face. "I look forward to this Naruto-kun. Let's see how far you've come."  
Naruto nods as he pulls out his rose flicking it in a sword form. "I wish I could say the same Aizen-taicho"  
The referee signals for the fight to begin, however both competitors remain immobile as they size each other up .  
Naruto was showing his discomfort since his tails were still as he disappears in a shunpo to clash with the captain.  
Both fighters disappear, the audience only hearing the sounds of their battle. Minato squirmed anxiously as the fight continued.  
Naruto sighs as he pulls apart with not a scratch on his body. A soft smirk comes to his face as he flicks Yoko into whip form. "It's time to shine Yoko Kurama" That little phrase caused Naruto's already enormous reitsu levels to spike higher and his tails and ears to change to a gold shine. Then Yoko disperses into rose petals and four swords emerge around the blonde almost like a forcefield.  
Minato could feel his jaw dropping at the scene, in the back of his mind he wondered how long Aizen would be in the hospital.  
Naruto's shikai was a lot like Byakuya's as the rose petals acted like small swords and closed in on the captain with the ferocity of any fox. Naruto didn't have to move or worry as the four swords surrounding him had their own purposes.  
In desperation Aizen released his bankai, unintentionally revealing his true self.  
Naruto gasps as he backs up in fear as he could feel the evil presence suffocating him. Yoko could feel Naru's fear and surrounding the blond to keep the presence away from the small blond.  
Noticing Aizen's form as a vizard (is that right) the captains sped into action, aiming to detain the man. However their paths were cut off by Kaname and Gin. Minato was furious, "So you two are traitors as well?"  
Naruto is choking some as he looks up to the men with fear in his eyes. "What are you after Aizen!" The blonde is keeping his shikai up to keep Aizen away from him. Kaname tilts his head some, "I only wish to bring justice to Soul Society." Gin opens his eyes some, "I'll always follow Aizen-taicho"  
Minato grew angry at their casual replies, red reitsu pouring from his body which could be identified as Kyuubi's energy. His eyes became slit crimson, in a blur he had knocked the two out of the way and sprinted toward Aizen who was approaching Naruto.  
Naruto was having trouble breathing as his pure soul is clashing against the man's hollow tainted reitsu. The blond whimpers as he feels Yoko straining since he is in such distress. The blonde's rose falls to the ground and he cradles it to his chest. "Wh-what do you want from me Aizen-teme!" The blond didn't know that he was far more special that he was a blessed one even though he was a natural born vizard thanks to Kyuubi but his soul purified Kyuubi making the hollowesque demon good like a shinigami.  
Minato unsheathed his sword, which had changed just like his appearance. The blade was crimson while the hilt was midnight black he blew Aizen away like a fan does a fly, sending him to the other side of the arena. Kyuubi meanwhile gawked at the man through the teen's eyes, shocked. "Um Kit...look at Minato...doesn't that energy seem familiar to you?"  
Naruto looks up confused as he blinks. "H-he looks like I did when I used to channel you Kyuu-kun" The blonde gasps as he feels someone pick him up and a two zanpakto put to his throat by Tousen and Gin  
Leaving Aizen to the others, Minato growled as he saw Naruto being held captive by the two rogue captains. Suddenly he feels himself being teleported faster than he had ever moved before, the only thought in his mind is to save Naruto. Instantly he is right beside the blonde and teleports the teen away from the two men, only to be sliced by Gin.  
Naruto yells as he tries to get to the elder blond but Tousen picks up the struggling thirteen old and holds him without pause and looks to Aizen to get him to call for their escape.  
Toshiro sees them and sneaks up on Tousen, stabbing him in the side causing him to release the blonde. The mini captain immediately grabbed Naruto and teleported him away. Minato and the others forced the three rogues back, causing them to escape. Toshiro returns with Naruto in tack, while Minato collapses from burning out his energy.  
Naruto rushes over and taps into his own soul energy and a white light engulfs him as his white light engulfing the red energy soothing the man's body and healing him.  
Minato's features soften, his appearance turning back to normal but stays unconscious.  
Naruto relaxes before passing out falling against Toshiro as the stress was adverse to the smaller blond  
The two are taken to the hospital to be checked by squad four attendants only to find out the two suffered from reitsu exhaustion. They are then put into a room with separate beds and are guarded by two captains every shift.


	6. SORRY

my story Of 2 worlds and my others that are not on y-gallery I'm going on temp. hiatus thats so i revise somethings and but in different thoughts and stuff like that and my mind it being over ran with plot bunnies and every time that i try to write it turns in to a different sotry even though i havent updated in a long while but be on the look out!


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